What to do with contaminated lead?

Geezerbiker · May 15, 2021, 01:54 PM

I have about 30 pounds of lead I salvaged from tire weights but I think I missed a zinc weight and this batch is contaminated. I've had those ingots in a GI ammo can for years and now I need to find a use for them or to get rid of them. Any good ideas?

Tony

Dave P · May 15, 2021, 04:28 PM

I sure would not worry about contamination in 30 lbs. Pour it, shoot it.

Mike / Tx · May 16, 2021, 08:15 AM

Quote:

I sure would not worry about contamination in 30 lbs. Pour it, shoot it.

That would be my plan as well. I had a batch that was really weird and looked like oatmeal that I broke down I nto ingots and mixes into known pure to use making RN bullets for blasting ammo. So far I've used it successfully on several thousand 9mm bullets and to make up jig heads for fishing.

TXAZ · May 16, 2021, 12:44 PM

There are metal recyclers in most every city if you don’t want to shoot it.

FrankenMauser · May 16, 2021, 12:55 PM

Dive weights.
Sell the alloy to a dive shop or diver.

Geezerbiker · May 18, 2021, 01:22 AM

Thanx for the suggestions. I don't know of any dive shop around here but I'll look. The last time I tried to cast bullets from this batch of alloy the didn't fill out well. For now I have plenty of good alloy to cast with so I'll get around to dealing with this when I do...

Tony

Doyle · May 18, 2021, 07:06 AM

Could it be be used for fishing weight casting?

dahermit · May 18, 2021, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave P

I sure would not worry about contamination in 30 lbs. Pour it, shoot it.

Depending on how many Zinc weights were missed, Zinc contamination results in misshapen bullets that cannot be used.

Also, trying to dilute Zinc contaminated bullet casting alloy by adding more pure lead has been reported by some casters as being problematic in that they maintain that it will take great deal of pure lead to dilute the Zinc contamination to the point where cast bullets become usable.

BarryLee · May 18, 2021, 08:01 AM

Why not simply toss it in the general household trash? I believe all municipal landfills are lined and this is really not a large amount.

anothernewb · May 18, 2021, 09:08 AM

cast a few. see how they turn out. If they cast okay. then no worries. if they don't, then there's always the other options. All depends on how much zinc is actually in there.

gwpercle · May 21, 2021, 01:58 PM

Cast it into small "mini-muffin" ingots and add 1 mini-muffin to every pot when you fill it for casting . In small amounts the zinc has no discernable affect on a large pot 10 - 20 lb. pot ... there is just too little zinc in it to do any harm .
Times are too hard to be throwing any reloading stuff away .
Gary

5whiskey · May 22, 2021, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Cast it into small "mini-muffin" ingots and add 1 mini-muffin to every pot when you fill it for casting . In small amounts the zinc has no discernable affect on a large pot 10 - 20 lb. pot ... there is just too little zinc in it to do any harm .
Times are too hard to be throwing any reloading stuff away .
Gary

Best answer I think. 1-2 pounds of the contaminated lead per 10 pounds of Known good alloy should dilute enough to use as normal. And agreed it would hurt my soul right now to just toss 30 pounds of lead. Even if it did have issues.

101combatvet · May 22, 2021, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarryLee

Why not simply toss it in the general household trash? I believe all municipal landfills are lined and this is really not a large amount.

Oh, Lord. You sound like the commercial fisherman I knew that use to pour used motor oil on his dirt driveway to keep the dust down. You might as well dump sewage into the Bay; he finally got the message.

LOLBELL · May 22, 2021, 08:12 AM

I had an Aunt that put used motor oil on the dirt road in front of her house to keep the dust down. Worked great. You would get locked up for doing that nowadays. I never could understand all the hoopla. The oil and lead originated in the ground, whats wrong with putting it back where it came from. I pump water out of the ground to water my lawn and nobody says anything.

Geezerbiker · May 22, 2021, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5whiskey

Best answer I think. 1-2 pounds of the contaminated lead per 10 pounds of Known good alloy should dilute enough to use as normal. And agreed it would hurt my soul right now to just toss 30 pounds of lead. Even if it did have issues.

If you were close by, I'd let you have it...

Tony

Don Fischer · May 22, 2021, 10:03 AM

How do you know you have zinc in it? I found when melting down wheel weights that the wheel weights of lead melted much sooner than zinc and the zinc weight floated out. If I remember right, that would be good!, zinc melts at 850* and lead at something like 600*. I never smelter lead at over 650* and actually no problem with zinc, at 650* the zinc won't melt!

101combatvet · May 22, 2021, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOLBELL

I had an Aunt that put used motor oil on the dirt road in front of her house to keep the dust down. Worked great. You would get locked up for doing that nowadays. I never could understand all the hoopla. The oil and lead originated in the ground, whats wrong with putting it back where it came from. I pump water out of the ground to water my lawn and nobody says anything.

Funny

101combatvet · May 22, 2021, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Fischer

How do you know you have zinc in it? I found when melting down wheel weights that the wheel weights of lead melted much sooner than zinc and the zinc weight floated out. If I remember right, that would be good!, zinc melts at 850* and lead at something like 600*. I never smelter lead at over 650* and actually no problem with zinc, at 650* the zinc won't melt!

^THIS^

Geezerbiker · May 23, 2021, 10:01 AM

What makes you think I had a temperature controlled furnace to melt it? I used a stainless steel pan on a camp stove. I'm pretty sure I melted at least one zinc wheel weight in the mix. I can't get good bullets from this alloy even with my best molds.

I might mix it in with better alloy someday or it might just sit in that GI ammo can for the rest of my days.

Tony

USSR · May 23, 2021, 11:28 AM

Tony,

Some advice for melting clip-on wheel weights in the future. Test them with a pair of side cutter pliers. If you can put a dent in them with the side cutter, they are lead; if you can't, they ain't.

Don

Geezerbiker · May 24, 2021, 01:34 AM

That's one of the many things I learnt too late... I have another bucket of wheel weights that I need to smelt down and I can gurandamtee you that I won't make that mistake again.

I have one forklift ballast plate and if I can break it down to melt into ingots, I might mix it in with the contaminated lead. That should be a 4 to one clean lead to iffy lead alloy mix. I could also toss in one of those bars of pure tin I have lying around. This also assumes I scrounge up melting pot large enough for all of it...

I hate tossing lead and that's why I kept this 1/2 a GI ammo can of iffy quality ingots though my last move... It would have been a lot easier to have gotten rid of them than bringing them to my new digs.

Tony

May 15, 2021, 01:54 PM	#1
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	What to do with contaminated lead? I have about 30 pounds of lead I salvaged from tire weights but I think I missed a zinc weight and this batch is contaminated. I've had those ingots in a GI ammo can for years and now I need to find a use for them or to get rid of them. Any good ideas? Tony

May 15, 2021, 04:28 PM	#2
Dave P Senior Member Join Date: August 16, 1999 Location: North Florida Posts: 1,346	I sure would not worry about contamination in 30 lbs. Pour it, shoot it. __________________ I think this country is screwed.

May 16, 2021, 12:44 PM	#4
TXAZ Senior Member Join Date: September 5, 2010 Location: McMurdo Sound Texas Posts: 4,322	There are metal recyclers in most every city if you don’t want to shoot it. __________________ Cave illos in guns et backhoes

May 16, 2021, 12:55 PM	#5
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	Dive weights. Sell the alloy to a dive shop or diver. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

May 18, 2021, 08:01 AM	#9
BarryLee Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2010 Location: The ATL (OTP) Posts: 3,946	Why not simply toss it in the general household trash? I believe all municipal landfills are lined and this is really not a large amount. __________________ A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it ... gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman

May 18, 2021, 01:22 AM	#6
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	Thanx for the suggestions. I don't know of any dive shop around here but I'll look. The last time I tried to cast bullets from this batch of alloy the didn't fill out well. For now I have plenty of good alloy to cast with so I'll get around to dealing with this when I do... Tony

May 18, 2021, 07:06 AM	#7
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	Could it be be used for fishing weight casting?

May 18, 2021, 09:08 AM	#10
anothernewb Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2012 Location: West Central MN Posts: 143	cast a few. see how they turn out. If they cast okay. then no worries. if they don't, then there's always the other options. All depends on how much zinc is actually in there.

May 21, 2021, 01:58 PM	#11
gwpercle Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 1,752	Cast it into small "mini-muffin" ingots and add 1 mini-muffin to every pot when you fill it for casting . In small amounts the zinc has no discernable affect on a large pot 10 - 20 lb. pot ... there is just too little zinc in it to do any harm . Times are too hard to be throwing any reloading stuff away . Gary

May 22, 2021, 08:12 AM	#14
LOLBELL Senior Member Join Date: March 4, 2010 Location: Fayette AL Posts: 226	I had an Aunt that put used motor oil on the dirt road in front of her house to keep the dust down. Worked great. You would get locked up for doing that nowadays. I never could understand all the hoopla. The oil and lead originated in the ground, whats wrong with putting it back where it came from. I pump water out of the ground to water my lawn and nobody says anything. __________________ Don't squat with your spurs on!!

May 22, 2021, 10:03 AM	#16
Don Fischer Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2017 Posts: 1,868	How do you know you have zinc in it? I found when melting down wheel weights that the wheel weights of lead melted much sooner than zinc and the zinc weight floated out. If I remember right, that would be good!, zinc melts at 850* and lead at something like 600. I never smelter lead at over 650 and actually no problem with zinc, at 650* the zinc won't melt!

May 23, 2021, 10:01 AM	#19
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	What makes you think I had a temperature controlled furnace to melt it? I used a stainless steel pan on a camp stove. I'm pretty sure I melted at least one zinc wheel weight in the mix. I can't get good bullets from this alloy even with my best molds. I might mix it in with better alloy someday or it might just sit in that GI ammo can for the rest of my days. Tony

May 23, 2021, 11:28 AM	#20
USSR Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2017 Location: Finger Lakes Region of NY Posts: 1,442	Tony, Some advice for melting clip-on wheel weights in the future. Test them with a pair of side cutter pliers. If you can put a dent in them with the side cutter, they are lead; if you can't, they ain't. Don __________________ NRA Life Member NRA Certified Metallic Cartridge Reloading Instructor

May 24, 2021, 01:34 AM	#21
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	That's one of the many things I learnt too late... I have another bucket of wheel weights that I need to smelt down and I can gurandamtee you that I won't make that mistake again. I have one forklift ballast plate and if I can break it down to melt into ingots, I might mix it in with the contaminated lead. That should be a 4 to one clean lead to iffy lead alloy mix. I could also toss in one of those bars of pure tin I have lying around. This also assumes I scrounge up melting pot large enough for all of it... I hate tossing lead and that's why I kept this 1/2 a GI ammo can of iffy quality ingots though my last move... It would have been a lot easier to have gotten rid of them than bringing them to my new digs. Tony